In wireless communication systems, an air interface is used for the exchange of information between a mobile station and a base station or other communication system equipment. The air interface typically comprises a plurality of communication channels. In the well-known High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) specification in the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) standard, for example, a High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) is used for transmissions from a base station to a plurality of mobile stations (e.g., user equipment).
To facilitate data transmission via the High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH), signaling information is provided via dedicated and shared control channels. More specifically, a separate, dedicated Downlink Physical Channel (DPCH) is assigned to each mobile station and is used, in one exemplary function, for indicating when a respective mobile station has a transmission during a particular transmission time interval. In addition to the dedicated control channels, there are also a plurality of Shared Control Channels (SCCHs) that are associated with the High Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH). The Shared Control Channels (SCCHs) are used for transmitting signaling information that is needed for the mobile station to process the corresponding data transmission. By way of example, signaling information in the Shared Control Channels (SCCHs) can include transmission format information such as code information (which codes are used for the data transmission), modulation information, Transport Block Set Size (TBSS), and so on. The Shared Control Channels (SCCHs) are used on a shared basis among all the mobile stations such that a mobile station would read a Shared Control Channel (SCCH) only upon an indication (e.g., via its dedicated DPCH) that the Shared Control Channel (SCCH) is intended for that particular mobile station.
As is well known, control or signaling information that is transmitted via a Shared Control Channel (SCCH) is typically encoded, e.g., with block codes or convolutional codes. As such, a mobile station must decode all the information in the Shared Control Channel (SCCH), which is then used for processing the corresponding data transmission. Prior methods for decoding signaling information in the Shared Control Channel (SCCH) are limited in several respects. For example, there are inherent limitations in block coding (e.g., coding inefficiency) as well as convolutional coding (e.g., additional overhead because of tail bits). Moreover, decoding all of the signaling information corresponding to a data transmission can lead to increased complexity as a result of timing requirements (e.g., offsets and delays between signaling and data transmission), buffering requirements, detection and correction of errors in the decoding of signaling information, and so on.